Venetian blind structure



M. D. BELFOR VENETIAN BLIND STRUCTURE Zzfil March 26, 19 57 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 4, 1954 INVENTOR. lz eraaa w United States Patent VENETIAN BLIND STRUCTURE Myer D. Belfor, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application February 4, 1954, Serial No. 408,177

6 Claims. (Cl. 160168) This invention relates to venetian blind structures of the enclosed metal head type and more particularly to such structures having removable type slats.

While many removable slat type venetian blind devices have been proposed, these are subject to various disadvantages as a result of which they have not proven entirely satisfactory in use. Thus, in some cases, easy removability of the slats is hampered and the costs of manufacture and assembly increased, by the provision of various types of clamps, clips and the like, designed to prevent accidental disengagement of the slats from the lifting strands. In other cases, the slats, while readily removable, are so constructed that the cross-tapes which support them very quickly work into the slots or apertures thereof thereby adversely affecting operation of the blind, if not actually resulting in damage thereto. In still other cases the arrangement of the lifting cords with respect to the tapes and slats may prevent proper folding of the tapes and/ or result in dislodgement of the slats from their normal positions when the blind is raised and lowered. The former results from positioning the lifting cords too close to the tapes and the latter from positioning and supporting the lifting cords in a manner such that they cannot move freely through the apertures in the slats.

A principal object of the present invention is the provision of a venetian blind structure of the indicated type which will overcome the disadvantages of prior known blinds of this type. I

Another object of the invention is the provision of a venetian blind structure having an enclosed metal head, a metal bottom bar, and a plurality of metal slats disposed between said head and bar, together with supporting and manipulating mechanism for these parts, such parts and the supporting mechanism therefor being so constructed, arranged and coordinated as to provide easy, smooth and eflicient operation, as well as easy and quick removability of the individual slats.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a venetian blind structure having an enclosed metal head provided with novel and improved universal offsetting means adapted to selectively position and support the lifting cords in laterally offset relation with respect to each other and to the longitudinal center line of the head, whereby the lifting cords are disposed for minimum interference with the slats thereby eliminating, or substantially reducing, the tendency for the slats to become dislodged from their natural positions as the blind is raised and lowered, while at the same time permitting ready removal of the individual slats for cleaning and/or replacement.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a venetian blind structure of the indicated type provided with apertured or slotted slats constructed and arranged for ready removal and minimum interference with, and the possibility of dislodgement by, the lifting cords and cross-tapes.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of 2,786,520 Patented Mar. 26, 1957 a venetian blind structure of the indicated type provided with a metal bottom bar having a novel arrangement of apertures therein designed to receive and selectively position the lower ends of the lifting cords in laterally offset relation with respect to each other and the longitudinal center line of the bottom bar in accordance with the positions of the apertures in the slats and the arrangement of the lift cords in the universal offsetting means of the enclosedmetal head.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a venetian blind in accordance with the invention, portions being cut away to show the interior construction;

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the blind taken on the line 22 of Figure l, with the tilting rail removed to show the off-setting arrangement for the lifting cords;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the blind taken on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view of one of the slats;

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the bottom rail;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom rail taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the blind when the same is in lowered position; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the blind when the same is in raised position.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates an enclosed metal head in which is mounted a conventional type of tilting rail 11 for tiltably supporting a plurality of pairs of tapes 12. The tapes 12 pass downwardly through openings 12a and 12b in the bottom of the metal head and are connected at spaced intervals by slat supporting cross-tapes 13 (Figure 7) which are preferably arranged in staggered relation so that alternate cross-tapes lie on opposite sides of the lifting cords or strands hereinafter described. At their bottom ends, the tapes 12 are secured to a bottom bar or rail 14 by resilient clamps 15 which may be snapped into and out of position to permit ready attachment of the tapes to, and detachment from, the bottom rail.

The tilting rail 11 is supported at one end thereof by a tilt gear assembly 16, the detail structure of which is not shown, but which may conventionally include a segment gear provided with a ring clamp for receiving the end of the tilting rail, a worm gear meshing with the teeth of the segment gear to effect rotative movement of the latter, and a pulley mounted on the worm gear shaft and having a tilting cord 17 trained thereover, the ends of the tilting cord passing downwardly through an opening in the bottom of the metal head so as to be accessible for pulling.

As will be apparent, a pull'on the tilting cord will efiectrotation of the pulley and the Worm gear and since the latter is in mesh with the teeth of the segment gear, rotative movement will be imparted to the latter. This, in turn, will cause rotative movement of the ring clamp carried by the segment gear which rotative movement of the ring clamp is imparted to the tilting rail by virtue of a key and slot connection between the two.

At its opposite end, the tilting rail 11 is supported by a cord lock assembly 20 provided with a conventional type of cord locking device 21 including pulleys 22'and 23 around which lifting cords 24 are trained. As will be noted, two lifting cords 24 are provided, one end of each lifting cord issuing from the'locking device passing downwardly through an opening in the bottom of the metalhead and adapted to be pulled simultaneously with the other cord to raise and lower the blind. The opposite ends of the lifting cords issuing from the locking device extend along the metal head and pass downwardly through longitudinally spaced openings 25 therein arranged substantially centrally thereof.

In accordance with the invention, each lifting cord is positioned and supported in the openings 25 by a novel pulley arrangement which selectively maintains them in laterally offset relationship with respect to each other and to the longitudinal center line of the metal head. Such arrangement, in each case, comprises a shaft 26, mounted in upstanding flanges 27 disposed on opposite sides of the openings 25, a pair of pulleys or rollers 28 rotatably mounted on each shaft 26, and a washer 29 mounted on each shaft 26 between the pulleys or rollers As will be noted, the washers 29 are substantially larger in diameter than the pulleys or rollers 28. The assembly comprising the shaft 26, pulleys 23, and washer 29, may be substituted for the single line pulley and shaft arrangement of conventional tilt gear assemblies thereby permitting such conventional tilt gear assemblies to be converted to the purposes of the present invention with relatively minor modifications thereof.

In practice, each lifting cord 24 may be selectively trained over either one of the pair of pulleys 28 with which it is associated thereby permitting it to be oifset either to the front or rear of the head depending upon the disposition of the apertures in the slats and bottom rail. There is thus provided a universal type of mounting which is not only easy and simple to install but which, in addition, cannot be installed improperly in view of its reversible nature.

The lifting cords 24 pass downwardly from the head 10 through apertures in the slats 36 and are secured at their lower ends to the bottom rail 14. 'l" he apertures in the slats, herein designated by the numeral 31, are shaped and positioned to serve three purposes, namely, (1) to permit the individual slats to be easily and quickly removed for replacement and/or cleaning, (2) to prevent the cross-tapes from entering the apertures and (3) to facilitate movement of the lifting cords through the slats so that the slats do not become dislodged from their natu ral positions when the blind is raised or lowered. To accomplish these purposes, each aperture 31 is provided with a substantially circular inner portion 32 which is connected with the adjacent edge of the slat by a restricted neck portion 33. The circular portion 32 is substantially larger in diameter than the lifting cord and its inner edge 34 extends toward, but terminates short of, the longitudinal. center line of the slat. The restricted neck portion 33 is slightly larger than the lifting cord so that the lifting cord may pass freely therethrough when the slat is removed or replaced. It will be noted, however, that the width of the restricted neck portion 33 is considerably less than the width of the cross-tapes 13 so that the cross-tapes are prevented from entering the apertures and thereby interfering with proper operation of the blind. The apertures 31 are laterally offset from each other and from the longitudinal center line of the slats to accommodate the offsetting of the lifting cords provided in the enclosed metal head.

As indicated above, the lower ends of the lifting cords are secured to the bottom rail 14. In accordance with the invention, this is, accomplished by anchoring the end of each cord in a universal type of bottom rail route or aperture 35 consisting of an enlarged rounded central portion 36, positioned on the longitudinal center line of the bottom rail, and smaller rounded portions 37, disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the rail, and connected to the enlarged central portion by restricted neck portions 38. While the relative sizes of those portions may be varied, it is preferred to make the enlarged central portion substantially larger than the cord, the smaller rounded portions slightly larger than the cord, and the restricted neck portions slightly smaller than the cord. By virtue of this arrangement, an enlargement at the end of the cord, such as a knot may be inserted through the enlarged central portion, and the cord then pressed through the restricted neck portion into one of the smaller rounded portions to securely anchor the cord to the bottom rail. it will be noted, that with the particular shape of aperture used the cord may be selectively inserted in either of the rounded portions 37 to laterally offset the cord in a desired direction with respect to the longitu center line of the slat.

In assembling the blind, it is merely necessary to train each lifting cord over the particular pulley 28 which Will offset it in the same direction a the corresponding apertures in the slats. The cords may be threaded through the apertures in the slats and anchored in the particular rounded portions 37 of the apertures 35 in the bottom rail which will again offset the cord in the same direction as the corresponding apertures in the slats. In the event the apertures in the slats are reversed from the positions shown, the lifting cords may be easily and quickly shifted to conform merely by training them over the opposite pulley 28 of each pair and anchoring the ends in the opposite smaller rounded portion 37 of each aperture 35.

An important feature of the invention is the coordinated arrangement of the offsetting means in the enclosed metal head and bottom rail, and the shape and arrangement of the apertures in the slats. By virtue of such arrangement, the slats may be readily removed for cleaning and/ or replacement merely by turning them to a vertical position to disengage the lifting cords from the apertures and then sliding them longitudinally until they clear the tapes. Such arrangement also permits the blind to be raised and lowered without dislodging the slats from their natural positions on the cross-tapes, the offsetting of the lifting cords in the manner shown and described permitting substantially free movement of such cords through the apertures in the slats.

In this connection, it should be noted that the apertures extend relatively deeply into the slats toward but stop somewhat short of the longitudinal center lines of the slats. To illustrate, in a typical slat having a width of about two inches, the inner edge of the aperture may be spaced about a quarter of an inch or less from the longitudinal center line of the slat. This, plus the offsetting arrangements of the head and bottom rail, permit the lifting cords to be spaced from the tapes sufi'iciently so that they do not interfere with the inward folding of the tapes between the slats when the blind is raised. This is clearly shown in Figure 8. It should also be noted that while the slats are readily removable from the blind by Passing the lifting cords through the restricted neck portions, that such portions are considerably les in width than the cross-tapes so that the latter cannot enter the apertures and snarl up the blind.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an improved venetian blind structure of the enclosed metal head removable slat type which is simple and economical to manufacture, easy to assemble, and universally adaptable to different structural arrangements and conditions. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, the invention is not to be construed as limited to the specific details herein illustrated and described except as included in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A venetian blind comprising an enclosed metal head, a metal bottom rail, and a plurality of metal slats disposed between said head and rail, said parts having two series of apertures therein, supporting and manipulating mechanisms for said parts including ladder tapes connected at spaced intervals by cross-tapes and a lifting cord passing through each of said series of apertures, the apertures in each of said slats being laterally offset with reference to the longitudinal center line of the slat and comprising inner rounded portions communicating with opposite longitudinal edges of the slat through restricted neck portions, the rounded portions being substantially larger than said cords and the restricted neck portions being slightly larger than said cords to permit free movement thereof therethrough but smaller in width than the width of the cross-tape whereby said cross-tapes are prevented from entering said apertures, the apertures in said bottom rail comprising enlarged rounded portions positioned along the longitudinal center line of the rail and smaller rounded portions disposed on opposite sides of the longitudInal center line of the rail and communicating with the enlarged rounded portions through reduced neck portions, and means associated with the apertures in said head for offsetting said cords, said means comprising a pair of pulleys rotatably associated with each of said openings and a washer intermediate the pulleys, said washer being larger in diameter than said pulleys whereby each of said cords may be selectively maintained in engagement with either roller of each pair to thereby offset said cords from the longitudinal center line of said head and on opposite sides thereof for passage through the apertures in said slats.

2. A venetian blind comprising an enclosed metal head, a metal bottom bar and a plurality of metal slats disposed between said head and bar, said parts having two series of apertures therein, supporting and manipulating mechanism for said parts including a lifting cord passing through each of said series of apertures, the apertures in each of said slats being laterally offset with reference to the longitudinal center line of the slat, the apertures in said bottom bar comprising enlarged rounded portions positioned along the longitudinal center line of the bar and smaller rounded portions disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line and communicating with the enlarged rounded portions through reduced neck portions whereby the end of each lifting cord may be selectively offset to either side of the longitudinal center line of the bottom bar in accordance with the positions of the apertures in the slats, and means associated With the apertures in said head for selectively &- setting each of said lifting cord-s to either side of the longitudinal center line of the head, said means comprising a pair of rollers rotatably associated with each of said openings and a washer intermediate said rollers, said washers being larger in diameter than said rollers whereby each of said cords may be selectively maintained in engagement with either roller of each pair.

3. A venetian blind comprising a head, a bottom rail, and a plurality of slats disposed between said head and rail, said parts having two series of apertures therein, supporting and manipulating mechanism for said parts including a lifting cord passing through each of said series of apertures, the apertures in each of said slats being laterally offset with reference to the longitudinal center line of the slat, and means associated with the apertures in said head for selectively oifsetting each of said lifting cords to either side of the longitudinal center line of the head, said means comprising a pair of rollers rotatably associated with each of said openings and a washer intermediate said rollers, said washers being larger in diameter than said rollers whereby each of said cords may be selectively maintained in engagement with either roller of the pair with which it is associated.

4. In a venetian blind device having an enclosed metal head and a pair of lifting cords associated with the head and passing downwardly through spaced apertures therein, means associated with the apertures in said head for selectively offsetting each of said lifting cords to either side of the longitudinal center line of the head, said means comprising a pair of pulleys rotatably associated with each of said apertures and a washer intermediate said pulleys, said washer being larger in diameter than said pulleys whereby each of said cords may be selectively engaged with either pulley of the pair with which it is associated.

5. In a venetian blind device having an enclosed metal head and a pair of lifting cords associated therewith and passing downwardly through spaced apertures in the head, means associated with the apertures in said head for selectively offsetting each of said cords to either side of the longitudinal center line of said head, said means comprising a pair of upstanding flanges mounted adjacent the front and rear edges of each of said apertures, a shaft mounted in each pair of flanges, a pair of rollers rotatably mounted on each shaft, and a washer mounted on each shaft between each pair of rollers, said washers being larger in diameter than said rollers whereby each of said cords may be selectively engaged with either roller of the pair with which it is associated.

6. A venetian blind comprising a head, a bottom bar, and a plurality of slats disposed between said head and bar, said parts having two series of apertures therein, supporting and manipulating mechanism for said parts including a lifting cord passing through each of said series of apertures, the apertures in each of said slats being laterally offset with reference to the longitudinal center line of the slat, the apertures in said bottom bar comprising enlarged rounded portions positioned along the longitudinal center line of the bar and smaller portions disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line and communicating with the enlarged rounded portions through reduced neck portions whereby the ends of the cords may be inserted through said enlarged rounded portions and the cords then selectively offset in either of said smaller portions of each aperture in accordance with the disposition of the slots in the slats, and means associated with the head for correspondingly off-setting the upper ends of the cords.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,194,277 Feeney Mar. 19, 1940 2,200,349 Walker May 14, 1940 2,547,305 Burns Apr. 3, 1951 2,580,252 Stuber et al Dec. 25, 1951 2,620,865 Isserstedt Dec. 9, 1952 

